Official 2012 Sony S Series Owners Thread

Joe - take a look at my first post on this whole thread - it's all there including the model numbers and the link to the US site.

Petrov.

 

Different model numbers cover a range of CPU configurations, HDD vs. SSD, DVD vs. Blue-ray, etc. as well as different body colors. They all use exactly the same BIOS.

 

Thanks guys, I've just updated the BIOS so I'll have to look out for the issue again. If it occurs again I guess I'll have to speak to Sony support

 

if you don't see noise/rough edges at the top right while tilting your head or blinking then I guess this problem doesn't affect your screen. At least I know its not universal now.

Edit: If you set the refresh rate to 40hz then the flicking on right became really noticeable without any physical motion.

 

Mine doesn't seem to have that issue, I think(possibility of getting used to it).

But, I do manage to see the problem when first time I have a looked at the demo models at the Sony Shop before buying it.

 

Here ar my Stats, i have the i5, 4 gb Ram, added myself a Samsung 830 128 GB SSD and a crucial 1.35v 8 GB Ram, Running fine
Temperature are now at surfing
GPU 43 C
HD 32C
Temp1 50C
Core0 32C
Core1 37C

 

I tried 59hz, 60hz, 40hz - then went back to the default of 59 - didn't seem to make any real difference to me.

 

Temperature (after the game) after 30 min Fifa gaming. The Performance after 10-15 min was very bad maybe throttling ?

 

Two things: please check the first post of this thread, at the end of my post about temps under load. It would be great if you could do what I did and see if you get real evidence of throttling (I didn't).

Secondly, do you have vain control panel set to 'priority to ventilation'?

Petrov.

 

Does anyone know how to down clock the i7 in this machine? I've noticed that when gaming with the 640M LE, the CPU still gets really hot - hits 95C and in some games I think this is causing artifacts on the screen... perhaps I should have bought the i5 and not the i7!

Petrov.

 

So I went to a Sony Store last night to get a hands-on look at the Viao S. I played around with the 13 and the 15. I have a few questions for people who may already own one:

- I did a Google Images search for "red" while I was at the store, and it was quite noticeable. How much calibrating needed to be done on the 15" to fix the Orangegate issue?

- The screens on both the 13 and the 15 seemed almost too flexible. I mentioned it to the sales guy, and he said that Sony has always made their screens like that. Told me some story about a guy who's screen started to actually stay bent a little bit, because he would always open it from the right hand corner. It still looked fine, but it had a slight bend. Do you guys foresee any issues with the flexible screen?

- Is it necessary to upgrade to the 2GB video card, or would the 1GB be sufficient?

Thanks guys!

 

1 or 2GB is entirely personal. Depends which settings you use for GPU intensive tasks.
Bending is not an issue and screen will never stay bent, unless you abuse it quite heavily.
Red issue is noticable, but the screen overally is still exellent by many opinions.
Not a screen for photo editing tho.

 

The orangegate can't be fixed, it can me less noticeable, but the screen can't shows red, it's a display problem, not a calibration problem.
Increase the blue valor by 20 and it seems to be more accurate (but definitely, blood won't be a scarlet red

 

Increase the blue valor by 20 and it seems to be more accurate (but definitely, blood won't be a scarlet red

 

I thought I remembered reading a post in some other forum about this card.. And it said that limitations with the card's clock speed wouldn't even allow it to use the extra GB of memory very often. Might have just been someone talking out of their though.

Good to know about the bending.

That's kind of what I meant by calibration. Just something to make it less noticeable. I have a desktop I would use as my primary computer/storage device anyway, so I can just edit pictures on there, rather than use the laptop. I wouldn't want to eat up my SSD space with .NEF files anyway.

 

Thanks for the warning. I'm hopefully going to get my i7 in the next week. Dont know if it would help but I have two windows gadgets on my desktop "All CPU Meter" and "GPU Meter" - both by AddGadget.com.

These have rolling graphs of usage of both the GPU and CPU - so after a heavy gaming session, you can see what was being used and how heavily. Might help to understand what component is giving you all the heat in what program?

EDIT: I also have "Drives Meter" and "Network Meter" by the same people. All four are always running on the right hand side of my desktop so at a quick glance I can see if my machine is doing something abnormal that I might not immediately see just by doing normal tasks. With the network meter I have caught several programs doing things that I wasnt aware of (especially communicating over the network).

 

Temps in the 50s/low 60s under load aren't really anything to worry about, but set priority to ventilation for Speed mode if you haven't already.

Have you forced it to use the discrete GPU? Find the game's .exe, right click, Run with Graphics Processor->High Performance NVidia

One of the first games I tested was Braid - which ran by default on the integrated GPU at about 30fps. When forced to use the real GPU, it was a solid vsynced 60fps. So don't trust it to automatically pick the best GPU for games

 

I've read the majority of the posts, but could have missed this. I've already replaced the stock HDD with my Samsung SSD, but I have a few questions.

This is my first SSD - anything i should do to maximize it's performance/longevity?

I didn't make restore discs prior to swapping the HDD. I'd like to go ahead and format the old 500GB HDD for misc. media storage, but before i do so I was curious if I'd still have the ability to make restore discs either now or at some point in the future using my new fresh installation on the SSD.

 

^Since you have a new SSD installed and you did not make recovery discs beforehand, you will need a copy of Windows 7 to install. If you don't have any Windows 7 discs, there are legal ways to download it. Google can help you there. Once you install a version of Windows 7 onto your SSD, make sure you have installed the Samsung Magician software included with your SSD. First make sure you have the latest firmware. Once updated, perform the OS Optimization from within the Magician software. This will recommend what you should select for optimal performance. This is done once and you leave it as is. Next you will run a performance optimization. It will perform actions that should bring your read and write performance to its out of the box levels. This can be done once a week. It is also recomended to Over Provision your SSD. Again, the Magician software will recommend what is best. And finally, as for doing Performance Benchmarks, only do that no more than once a day. The manual says doing more often can hurt the SSD performance. Now you will need to go to esupport.sony.com to download the drivers needed and VAIO software that you feel you want. Finally, enjoy your new S Series VAIO with your Samsung SSD. It should last you for several years.

Edit: After you have done all the above, in VAIO Care there is an option for you to create restore media under Recovery and Restore.

 

Does the sony s15 have a msata slot for a msata ssd?

 

Seeing really bad pixel walk at the top right of my screen at any refresh rate also - possibly related to lifting the screen from one corner?

 

Well, I'm using my replacement S15 to type this.

As of right now Sony is still using the Orangegate screens. I didn't find any dead pixels and I'm okay with Orangegate because of IPS's superior viewing angles.

I added my Crucial RAM and replaced the HDD with the Samsung SSD. I used the Recovery Media I made to recover the factory software install onto the SSD. The Recovery process was hilariously inefficient and slow, it took about 1 hour just to copy the recovery data off the discs because it constantly asked for disc 1, 3, 4, 2, 5, 1, 3, 5, 2, 4, etc. etc. over and over again because I guess the VAIO Care Recovery Media creator isn't smart enough to place files on the discs sequentially in order of when they are needed. Then it took another 2 hours to very slowly re-install everything. I never want to do this Recovery process again.

The fan seems to always stay on. It's audible as a low humming sound, as if the fan is bolted down to the metal frame and the sound of it's rotation is resonating through the magnesium case. I suppose this is inevitable on a laptop made of super thin and light metal materials. My Thinkpad T400 is completely silent when idling because the fan turns off and even when the fan is on I don't hear a how humming. I guess a constantly spinning fan is the price I have to pay to have a quad-core CPU in a laptop only about 1 inch thick.

I've gotten more used to the chiclet keyboard and I think I'm coming to like it. It's still positioned oddly because of the numeric keypad on the right.

I've played with the touchpad settings and I think I've gotten it to the point where it rejects my palm pretty accurately while I'm typing. However I still hate the fact that it has no buttons. If I could buy a replacement touchpad which had buttons that fit in this chassis I would do it for almost any price.

I'm tempted to pull the laptop apart and see if I can add dampeners to the fan where it screws down to the frame to see if that removes the resonating hum noise.

 

Thanks!! I actually had a Windows 7 disc, so that part was thankfully simple.

The performance optimization only ran for 1 second with the following error:
ERROR SYSTEM TUNING CSysTuning:QueryStatus_Ser: Failed to get handle to CiSvc Service ;Err code: 1060
ERROR OPTIMIZATION COptInterface::TriggerOpt:1 or more drives not found on Disk S0XZNEAC605658
ERROR OPTIMIZATION Failed to create file on drive.

Not super enlightening from my perspective.

 

^I haven't had that problem so I am not sure if I can't help you there. Maybe you can ask about this in the SSD forums unless somebody here has an answer.

 

I think this test shows the mainly problem with my S13P display (and noticed by other users here too):

Gradient (banding) - Lagom LCD test

Different from what is expected, there is no smooth transitions between the colors. The visual noise is clear.

I also opened this image in a Macbook Air and the difference is enormous.

If possible, anyone using the new S13 Premium open the link above and share here the results.

Thanks!

EDIT: I went today to a Sony Store with the laptop. They didn't have the new S13 Premium, just the regular version (720p). For my surprise, even the 720p is way better. I was not able to notice banding. I schedule an appointment with an technician for Monday to see if this is a defect. If it is "normal", they are using the worst display I ever saw, not acceptable for a U$1000+ laptop.

 

Is anyone interested in buying a sheet battery for the S15? I just don't need more battery life than the regular, so I rarely see myself using it.

 

Would someone please (please, please!) be kind enough to let us know 1) if there is DEFINITELY a mPCI-E slot available in the S15 2) If so, and you have an mSATA SSD available, is it electrically compatible and recognized by the EFI (i.e. usable and bootable)? 3) Speeds from said mPCI-E/mSATA slot (and the card you have inserted)?

Please and thank you.

 

Unless I'm just missing something visually obvious (which is possible) I'm not seeing any blurring, pixel walking, or banding on my 13a screen.

 

Did you open the link I posted some minutes a go? If not, can you please check if the color transition for the black to white image look smooth or not?

 

Yeah I thought the color transitions looked perfectly smooth to me. Just to be clear, if there was an issue I would be seeing lines in between certain shades as it transitioned between the different shades of grey?

 

How is the screen on the s15? Are any of these issues with the S13 screen reported for the 15in model?

Also, how is the 3612 for those who have it? I've heard about issues in other computers with gaming.

 

I have the same problem when I run performance optimization.

 

Yes, I'm seeing lines between shades. So if to you look ok, then probably mine S13 Premium (and some others, as I could observe here) is defective.

Thanks for your info

 

Can you really see the lines clearly?

Like the sample of the banding?

Or just a very thin line?

 

I opened his link and looked through all the tests. Other than the fact that red is displayed as orange, my S15's screen seemed perfectly fine. Of course it says at the very end that his tests don't consider color gamut, and the HP Envy folks already determined that the Orangegate 6-bit IPS panel only has about 82% of sRGB and 60% of NTSC, and it happens that sRGB red and violet are outside of it's gamut range. Oh well.

I was curious about how this machine reacts to having all 4 cores loaded, since I plan to do some light video editing with Premiere Pro on it. I have the i7-3612QM.

After about 1 hour while sitting on a flat table:
Prime95 Stress Test w/Large FFTs: CPU max temp 89C
MSI Kombustor 2.3 w/OGL2 GPU burn, GPU OC to 540/1100: GPU max temp 75C

The ambient temperature in my living room is currently 70F (21C).

This isn't exactly a realistic test of real-world use but that's what happens if you abuse an S15 this way.

The palm rests and touchpad were cool to the touch, the keyboard was only slightly warm in the center, and the top metal panel where the Speed/Stamina switch is located was definitely warm to the touch. The underside of the laptop was similarly definitely warm to the touch on the upper middle area where the fan is busy roaring away, as is the upper right side where the motherboard is physically located. The lower bottom of the laptop is again nice and cool. Even under this extreme load I could put the laptop on my legs wearing a pair of slacks and not scald myself or even really feel uncomfortable, though if I left it there indefinitely I think my right leg would get really sweaty from a heat source sitting on it.

As laptops go, this one passes the sitting on your lap while actually operating test with flying colors.

 

Well, I've heard about issues with the 3612 throttling while gaming (even on person in this thread mentioned it). I'm stuck between getting the 3612 or the 3520.

 

If my CPU didn't throttle while simultaneously running Prime95 and MSI Kombustor, I'm thinking it's probably not going to throttle running Diablo III.

That said, what exactly do you need a quad-core CPU for? Quad-cores have pretty specific uses, and for the most part gaming isn't one of them.

 

I have a S13P. I loaded the image above and while if i get really close (like head over the keyboard) to the screen and squint I can detect some very, very fine vertical lines about 2mm apart.

However, it is nowhere even close to being as bad as the "banding" images shown below the test image. Imho, it doesn't look defective on my laptop as I'd never notice it in real world usage.

Petrov.

 

Hi I don't know but the transfer data rate of my crucial m4 doesnt seems right, does it? I got the S15 with i5 and I've replaced the HDD by myself.



Doesn't it should be around 500/260?

 

Use Atto for benching M4.

 

Only running SATA2 mode will limit you to about 250/250.

 

How can I enable SATA3 mode?

 

So this confirms that the S15 really is using SATA2 then...a major issue .

You can't as far as I know. It is limited by the hardware and not a software setting.

 

Hmm can somebody with a Samsung 830 check the transfer rate and post it her?
Maybe Sony and Crucial M4 doesn't fit perfectly together? But it doesn't matter for me.. boottime is around 15 seconds and thats really great

 

You don't have read the thread? The vaio S can use SATA III, it's not an hardware problem, it's a BIOS limitation by Sony.
Many guys have do the test with the 830 yet and it's STA II.
Only the SSD of Sony in RAID 0 are SATA III.
We're waiting for ahack BIOS to unlock SATA III, which can never exist...^^
Be patient but, in every case, SATA II or III, there is no real difference for a normal use (word, surf, gaming etc....) only professionnals with big files will see the differece, am I wrong?

 

Hey does the sony s 15 support m sata

 

Samsung 830, 256Gb, in an S13A - on battery and in Stamina mode (can try mains power+speed mode later, don't think it'll increase much, if at all?)



The SATA2 vs 3 thing is hardly worth worrying about, IMHO. It's still nice and speedy. The only thing to be concerned about is the screen quality, or lack of it...

 

Yes, this definitely shows up some banding and also shimmering on my S13A, as well as a sudden cut-off to black at about 5-10% grey.

Best demo yet to show that this screen isn't suitable for anyone doing graphic design work. While it's not *terrible*, it's more like what you'd expect a good screen to look like in maybe 2002-2005ish, not in 2012. I've certainly seen nicer screens on cheaper machines.

I've certainly considered returning it due to the screen, but I think I'll keep it. I don't know what I'd get instead - there's no such thing as 'the perfect laptop' - the Z-series isn't an option, as there's no GPU or upgradeability, and I'm not paying Sony upgrade prices for a reasonable sized SSD... There's not a huge amount of choice in the 'powerful 13"-er' category, and this S series would have been close to perfect if it had a better quality panel. Guess I should/could have gone for the S15? - Off-red reds seems like a minor thing compared to banding, shimmering, and poor blacks. But I didn't want a 15"...

Also tried it on my Dell XPS15 (L501x), and it looks great on that. Wow, that screen looks so vibrant after a few days with the new Vaio. (A shame the rest of the machine was so poor - I had major overheating/underperforming issues, and got fed up of carrying something so big, heavy and with no battery life anywhere...)

Edit: Just tried on a 2008 Macbook 13". While this shows some clearly visible banding, it's still better than the Vaio, and it doesn't 'shimmer' like the Vaio.

Whilst haing the Vaio and Macbook side-by-side, I tried playing a movie on both - and on the positive side, the Vaio looked better. Not as bright or vibrant as the Macbook's glossy screen - but the blacks seemed more consistent and the viewing angle was a little better. The Macbook screen was never great for watching movies - the blacks went a bit wierd if you weren't at the optimal viewing angle, and the very darkest blacks would start to get lighter. That doesn't happen on the Vaio, the blacks are more consistent and not quite so sensitive to viewing angle.

 

Would you say 2 cores, instead of 4, is advantageous for non-gamers, non-heavy-programers?

 

I'm getting the same numbers on my Samsung 830 on a S15.